SAN DIEGO — Two high-profile bicycle accidents have had biking supporters calling out for help and fundamental change for the way cars and bikes interact on the roads in San Diego County.

On Thursday night, a 27-year-old man was killed by a hit-and-run driver in Oceanside, and then another rider was killed Tuesday morning on Pershing Drive near Balboa Park.

“I think what this says is that we still really do have a problem in the San Diego region of cars hitting and sometimes and even killing vulnerable road users, whether they are pedestrians, bicyclists or people riding an electric scooter,” said Colin Parent, who is the Executive Director and General Counsel at Circulate San Diego.

Whether it’s bicyclists, scooters or pedestrians, many are seeing a lot more transportation and interaction with different types of vehicles.

“There is a plan to build some bicycle infrastructure there, but it’s way behind schedule,” And that’s something that can be fixed if the city and San Diego Association of Governments, the regional transportation agency, put their heads together and really make a commitment to put those on the ground.”

Parent says city and county officials need to adopt “Vision Zero,” which is a goal to get to zero deaths and accidents when it comes to bikes and cars in the county.

Parent points out the sharp uptick in ridership since the pandemic, with people searching for healthy outdoor family outlets.

“And I think that’s here to stay, so we need to make sure that we are designing our streets, spending the right amount of time and money on making sure those bicyclists are able to do so safely,” he said.

Parent also said he wants to see more dedicated bike lanes that are safe from car traffic and to keep them separate when they can.